[SGVLUG] recruiters recruiters recruiters selling your body

[matti]

Hi,

I had a really good question earlier today with regards to recruiters.
( please feel free to chime in )

SHOULD I USE A RECRUITER? 

Should I use a particular recruiter/recruiting company?


Many of the recruiters I have spoken to have less than 1 year
of experience. So, you should ask yourself, IF they have less
than 1 year of experience how well do they really know the
hiring manager(s) for the position they want to fill?
( the ones with less than 1 year of experience are probably
working with a senior level recruiter.. )

Let's line up the back ground

1) Recruiters ( or their companies ) make really good $ filling positions

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Recruiters charge a % of a full time salary, or markup of an
hourly wage. The % of a full time salary can be almost 30%
in my recent experience ( for awhile during the dip in the IT
market it went down - I recall seeing as little as 10-15%,
it is probably now 25-30% )

For hourly mark ups it looks to be about 2x - and I suspect
even higher in some locations ( maybe 2.2-2.5x )

Thus, you will cost the company MORE than what you
would otherwise. ( Note to maximize their profits the 

recruiter will try to maximize your salary )


You can get paid several ways
W2, 1099, C2C

Understand them. Each has significant tax implications, and
determines how you get paid and your job protections.



2) Often they do NOT really care about what type of company
or company environment you want to work in.
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Ever wonder why some companies have so many openings?

Maybe it is because people really do not like to work there
for one reason or another. Hint - goto Glassdoor to see info
on larger companies if people actually like to work there.

The recruiter will not really care if it is a nice place to work at.
You will need to do your research on the company and people
you will be working with.



3) Often you may have as good if not a better inside track
to a company than the recruiter who is wanting to put in you there.
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Yes. You probably know someone working in the company already,
and can get an interview there relatively easily if your resume and
experience is good. Your friend/associate may also get a hiring kick 

back ( $500-1500+ yes, a lot less than the recruiter, but I'd rather
see my friend get it )

IF the recruiter does NOT have a good relationship with
the hiring manager, why use them?

Note, SOME companies have a limited "vendor" list,
this includes recruiters. One I worked with only allowed
10 recruiting companies as vendors, and the inside 

recruiter was sweethearts to one of those vendors,
so all the resumes I saw came from ONE recruiting company.
So, HOW do you know which is the ONE and which are
the other 9? ( I would still see any inside referral 

resumes, but very few wanted to tell their friends to work
there... even for $2000 )


4) Recruiters are having a hard time filling positions,
many companies are looking for experienced talent 

right now.
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This is one of the best times for people with the RIGHT
experience to look at different opportunities. The Indians
are working very very hard to pickup skills which they
are missing to off shore these opportunities. 


IF you want to try something new, HURRY up and 

pickup your skill set as quickly as possible.
( i.e. get the right skill set )

Think about where you would like to be working / doing
in the next 5 years. Now start working backwards to
see what you need to do to get there.


5)  Social Networking is King!
--------------------------------------------

groups like the SVLUG will help a lot.

Look at other groups, often listed in places like meetup
and checkout their meetings.

SCALE is also a great place to network and learn.
( coming up in Feb 2013 )


Linkedin is a good resource. Especially in determining
if you know people who work in a particular company
to get an insider to pass your resume along.

Recruiters like to go to these meetings also to find
candidates. The will also mine linkedin data.



6) Still need experience/skills
---------------------------------------------

Yes, this is still a big challenge for people getting into
the tech field ( please see previous posts on this subject. )


7) Always ask about compensation ranges
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Recruiters know what their client is looking to pay.
Ask them. It will give you an idea of if the company
is serious or not. Yes, things do DOE ( Depending
On Experience ) but the client should still have some 

expectations on the compensation. IF it is far too low
you know something screwy is going on.
( I've seen a CL ad for an super experienced IT manager
for $50K/year in LA.. they had no clue about how
much more the person could get. )


I saw one company take an open position and offer $65k 

for it, and 1/2 year later it was still unfilled and it went 

to $120k + Recruiter fess!
( job requirements did change a bit, but you can see
the how the budget for the unfulfilled position changed )



8) Submissions/Applications to jobs
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Becareful companies do not want to see candidates submitted
from multiple sources. Recruiters do not get $ for a candidate
which has already been submitted to a company.
( typically within the last year ) A company may dump your
application if you got submitted from multiple sources.


You really want to control who is submitting your resume,
and you want to be cautious about submitting it to too many
places. 




So, the question remains.. Are recruiters worth it???


Thoughts on what to look for in a recruiter?

thanks
matti